Beside the Turtleduck Pond
by Chouko Chango
Summary: Mai wonders if their child will be blessed by Agni and Zuko thinks of baby names. Post-war fluff, kinda.


Mai wonders if their child will be blessed by Agni and Zuko thinks of baby names. Post-war fluff, kinda.

**This came to me late at night and absolutely loved it, so I had to write it. And I was able to write it quite consistently paced as it came to me in reverse, mostly full-formed. That must be the secret to it! I'm not normally good at creating fluff, and it may be a little OOC if so tell me, but here it is. Enjoy.**

… **- … - …**

**Beside the Turtleduck Pond**

… **- … - …**

Zuko and Mai were enjoying a leisurely Sunday sitting in the Turtleduck Garden as Zuko liked to call it. It was days such as this that Zuko thanked Agni for weekends and Mai's insistence for the dwindling days of the week to be free of work and duties.

They lounged in the sun, feeling the warmth, as Zuko lounged against a tree with Mai nestled between his legs. Zuko would normally enjoy the garden by feeding the turteducks or admire the beauty that the garden had been restored of since its dismal and barren appearance it had gained during his banishment. This day Zuko was admiring the beauty of his wife, his head resting on her shoulder as he caressed her pregnant belly through her gown.

"I'm having trouble truly admiring our baby under all these thick clothes," Zuko purred against Mai's neck.

The Firelord and his wife had already had two beautiful children, but Zuko was still just as captivated and in awe of their child-to-be, the panic and jitters of impending parenthood long forgotten.

"I'm not stripping down so you can fondle more of me," Mai lightly scolded in her contented drowsiness. "I'm feeling cold."

"Where are you feeling cold?" Zuko used his bending to warm his hands as he massaged the muscles at her sides.

The weather was comfortably spring with a hint of briskness usually at dawn and dusk. Zuko would notice the briskness at dusk as the firebender in him felt the sinking of the sun, but whenever the sun was shining he would only feel cold at the poles or a cool box. Mai was not a bender and would understandably be more prone to cold and chills.

"It's weird. My belly gets these chills and I'm just cold around the middle. These thick clothes and the baby weight should make me very warm."

Zuko moved his warming hands to roam her belly. "We are just coming out of winter, the cold can linger. And expectant mothers are meant to avoid the cold, maybe you are prone."

"I was carrying Zamira during winter and was still able to be comfortably warm. Pregnancy is like a hot water bottle in normal situations, but even as it is spring now, I'm having trouble staying warm. I've been thinking about it. You are naturally warmer being a firebender, the same with Lu Zoh and Zamira. But this baby feels cooler. What if they are not a firebender?"

Mai was not meeting his eyes, not that it was innately easy from their positions, but Zuko felt a spike of worry. The two of them were not big on talking at length, so this had to be bothering Mai in some way.

"Are you worried about it?"

"Your whole line is filled with firebenders. I don't think there has been a non-bender born into the family of ascension. It is our duty to raise firebenders strong with the will of fire. It is expected."

"Are you telling me or you?" Zuko renewed his massage of her sides as he took her silence as an admittance of her worry. "I don't care what is expected of us or our children. If this child is blessed by Agni like its siblings, that is fine, if it is not, that is also fine. You can teach her to throw knives and I can teach her to wield swords. If it makes you feel better we can choose a name that is strong and blessed by Agni. Tradition and family history will not burden our children based on ability."

Mai allowed herself a few moments to let the notion sink in. As a lady born of nobility she is always aware of duty, and as the Fire Lady she must be aware of how it will affect her spouse, her family, the court and the nation. Maybe she should try to remember that she and her husband are unconventional as Firelord and Fire Lady, but they are revolutionaries in this post-war world. Mai was probably the most influential Lady to serve along with her Firelord and twelve years after Zuko's coronation the couple were still outraging the court quite often; of course a non-bender born to the Firelord may not be so improper as she was making it.

"I can teach this child to throw knives." Mai relaxed into Zuko and tried to convey that her worries were eased without saying the words. "What makes you think it's a girl?"

Zuko only realised they were both tense as Mai relaxed and he was able to do so as well. "Just a hunch. What do you think?"

"I think it's a boy. Don't fight mother's intuition, but this one feels more laidback like Lu Zoh. Zamira was lively and cheeky. No kicks to the ribs from this little one."

"Are you calling Lu Zoh lazy?"

"No, I've heard that girls in the womb can be cheekier while boys just want to sleep."

Zuko chuckled at that. He must admit that every girl he's known has been highly focused and ambitious while Aang and Sokka enjoy relaxing, so he could say it made sense.

"He'll still need a strong name. Pick one out Zuko."

"I thought you would want to pick out a name. I chose Lu Zoh and Zamira."

"But you're good at it."

"Oh yes. I can barely string a greeting together but you think I have talent with names? I remember you scoffing at 'Zamira' when I suggested it." Zuko dripped a little sarcasm into his voice, it was no secret he was socially awkward.

"Because it sounds like a Water Tribe name. But it's uncommon and it is a good name. Iroh even cried when you named Lu Zoh."

"Because it is similar to Lu Ten and Uncle's names together. But you really wanted a Z in the name for some reason."

"Think about it Zuko, every Firelord for the past eight generations and many others before that have had a Z in their name and most of their siblings. Even Aang's friend Kuzon was of the royal family. I think it's a good tradition."

"So you want a strong name with a Z."

"And blessed by Agni, that's what you said."

"Okay, okay… I heard that Ryuu means dragon in some parts of the world…"

"And a Z, Zuko."

"Uh, Ryuzon."

"So tributed to the original firebenders… Ryuzon. Ryuzon."

Zuko jumped a little as he felt a flutter near his hand resting on Mai's side. "Was that a kick?"

"Yep. This one doesn't do that much. I think we are definitely going with Ryuzon for a boy."

Zuko adjusted his hand half a hand-width down. "Ryuzon… There it is again! Maybe you are a boy."

Mai actually chuckled as Zuko continued to murmur to the child growing in her distended belly.

They stayed like that a while. Zuko talked to the child and coaxed some kicks in reply as Mai smiled. Zuko had more children to talk to and Mai smiled more as six-year-old Lu Zoh and four-year-old Zamira came thundering into the garden with Iroh in tow.

Zuko felt that the beauty of the turtleduck pond had just gotten that much better.


End file.
